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First let me apologise if this in the wrong section, and for the long post.

We have lived in our house for 30 years, for 20 of those we had horrible neighbours - but had little to do with them and kept ourselves to ourselves - they moved out 2 years ago and we were delighted as the younger couple that moved in seemed pleasant, we thought things would improve - how wrong could we be.

At the end of the first week one night we were woken up by hammering which started at gone midnight - I went out and knocked, it took them 10 minutes or more to answer - and I told them they needed to stop as it wasn't acceptable and that we had work the next day - they explained that they were hiring a sander for the floors the next day and needed make preparations - but they would stop for now!!! They made no apology but stopped and the next couple of days we had the noise of constant sanding up until gone 9 at night.

Then a couple of months later they moved out and had builders in to knock down chimneys, plastering and fitting an en-suite - the builders were great stopped all noisy work by 5.30 pm and cleaned up etc.

Since then the couple has moved back in and the DIY noise is everyweek, at strange hours - on more than one occasion starting after midnight, recently waking me up when he started scraping paint of the woodwork on the wall adjoining our bedroom (and their main bedroom) at 12.35 a.m. We banged on the wall on that occasion as I physically couldn't go out and knock, he stopped and for the next week I knocked on regular occasions when i knew they were in to talk about the noise, but they didn't answer. I then took in a parcel for them and when she knocked to collect it I said that we needed another talk about the noise, she was apologetic and very upset but he came out and started having a go at me telling me that he wasn't using power tools so it was ok to scrape paint etc - he really didnot get how much we can hear, i told him that I really didn't want to make a complaint to the council but it had now got to the point that I would if things didn't improve.

This morning he has again woken us up but this time scraping on the wall in our bedroom again - at 7 a.m. I am really torn as to what to do I think now that I need to contact the council. This is currently impacting on my health - I have osteo-arthritis, fibromyalgia and am currently recieving treatment for thyroid cancer.

Sorry to vent but I just wanted to get this off my chest - I think the time has come to ring environmental health and make a complaint, we've put this off as we want to move in the next 12/18 months.

Perhaps bear in mind that everybody will have to do some noisy work at some point, and once it's done it's done. We've lived here for 12 years and the 3 neighbours on both sides have had extensions and building/renovation work done in that time. that's 6 lots of noise and banging for up to 6 months (one was a new build) .
The advantage of using trades is that they go home at 5pm, the disadvantage is that they do not care about the noise.
I would not go down the formal route, it will ease off once they've done the work, and if you want to sell you may have to discount your property for no reason if the noise has abated.

I don't think many of us would argue that working on a party wall or using power tools after 10pm or before 7am is reasonable behaviour.

What's more questionable, is whether it is advisable to get into confrontation with such an unreasonable neighbour, or pursue them formally via the council EHO, or privately through the courts, when a move is soon on the cards.

In other words, "Them people" could stuff things up, 12 months down the line.

I never advised formally via the council EHO, or privately through the courts, My tactic of choose is a little self help with an object lesson. It always works for me on "them people."

Last summer my neighbour had a party. No problem.............however it started at 20.00 and finished at about 7.00 with the music full on. When I came home after a night shift my wife and boy had got very little sleep. "Them people" must have settled to go asleep about 8-9. Or so they thought!

I never advised formally via the council EHO, or privately through the courts, My tactic of choose is a little self help with an object lesson. It always works for me on "them people."

Last summer my neighbour had a party. No problem.............however it started at 20.00 and finished at about 7.00 with the music full on. When I came home after a night shift my wife and boy had got very little sleep. "Them people" must have settled to go asleep about 8-9. Or so they thought!

Perhaps bear in mind that everybody will have to do some noisy work at some point, and once it's done it's done. We've lived here for 12 years and the 3 neighbours on both sides have had extensions and building/renovation work done in that time. that's 6 lots of noise and banging for up to 6 months (one was a new build) .
The advantage of using trades is that they go home at 5pm, the disadvantage is that they do not care about the noise.
I would not go down the formal route, it will ease off once they've done the work, and if you want to sell you may have to discount your property for no reason if the noise has abated.

I am not sure nowadays though that there is any antisocial time per se. People work and sleep all sorts of hours. I had one neighbour who used to do an early morning shift and woke me up every morning at about half 3. What about those poor people who come back from night shift to next door lawn garden being mown?

I am not sure nowadays though that there is any antisocial time per se. People work and sleep all sorts of hours. I had one neighbour who used to do an early morning shift and woke me up every morning at about half 3. What about those poor people who come back from night shift to next door lawn garden being mown?

There is..........there is social norms. Children have to get up for school etc. Most people have a routine for nights being time to sleep. I work shifts, weekends, nights, Bank holiday, New Years Eve. I understand people will do stuff in the day time when I am sleeping. Midnight and the early hours are different. People should expect to be able to sleep in on a Sunday morning for example.

I get what you are saying but I think it is disappearing. Nightclubs used to close at 2 in my day now they go on til six. My daughter does not go out until 11 sometimes (we cross on the stairs). Shops are open all night, TV all night. Working hours to fit in with childcare, split working patterns in families etc. Fortunately the only noise I hear from next door is piano practice at the moment, but add a dog and a new baby and it is a different story.

Around 17 comments had been posted before yours , so I tried to take account of posts from several respondents, not just you.

I didn't say that the direct action you advocate would be counterproductive in every case, or even in this one, but there exists a possibility that confrontation and a severe falling-out could disrupt a sale. It depends almost entirely on the personalities of those involved, which neither you nor I know.

Sometimes whole roads 'enjoy' the results of families taking direct action against each other, but I doubt if either of us would like to live in them.

Around 17 comments had been posted before yours , so I tried to take account of posts from several respondents, not just you.

I didn't say that the direct action you advocate would be counterproductive in every case, or even in this one, but there exists a possibility that confrontation and a severe falling-out could disrupt a sale. It depends almost entirely on the personalities of those involved, which neither you nor I know.

Sometimes whole roads 'enjoy' the results of families taking direct action against each other, but I doubt if either of us would like to live in them.

I don't really need to know the ins and outs of a dogs backside to just give my own advice. At the end of the day it's a forum and I am not advertising as a solicitor. I would always start nicely and polite................but I would turn up the heat up, be that the council or my own special self-help. I see excessive noise as no different to bullying or disrespect.

I get what you are saying but I think it is disappearing. Nightclubs used to close at 2 in my day now they go on til six. My daughter does not go out until 11 sometimes (we cross on the stairs). Shops are open all night, TV all night. Working hours to fit in with childcare, split working patterns in families etc. Fortunately the only noise I hear from next door is piano practice at the moment, but add a dog and a new baby and it is a different story.

Well I know what you are trying to say. My daughter also works as a Pediatric Nurse. But I can never see a time when mowing or doing noise car repairs at 6am on a Sunday morning will be acceptable. Or having music in your garden full on from the afternoon to early morning. Or a dog barking all hours.

There lies the problem with noise, I have had problems with most of my neighbours in recent years, even if its a hour or two a day of noise its still severe and its likely its more to me the attitude behind the noise than the fact noise is being made, i.e woken at 6am one morning by neighbour having large group of friends round, so like 8-10 kids running and screaming on laminate which is against tenancy rules then I don't know when it will stop, sometimes 8am, sometimes 1pm, other times for like a month I may get the kids screaming from 7am-8.30am, parents loudly socialising to lunchtime, go out till 2, come back and then loudly socialise then kids come back at 3 scream till 5.

etc etc. At least then I have a set pattern for noise so if its a day off I can sleep through it and then only worry about afternoon and bedtime noise, but other times they can have lke 4 cars of friends parked outside my window meaning I cant have my own visiitors park, slam doors, scream, put music on full blast and its every day for 2 weeks and till like midnight.

Its very disrepecful even more so when they admit I make zero noise and they whinge about their own upstairs neighbour who doesn't have guests round, has carpet and just 1 kid but then claim I am hearing things if I hear noise from them!

Its very disrepecful even more so when they admit I make zero noise and they whinge about their own upstairs neighbour who doesn't have guests round, has carpet and just 1 kid but then claim I am hearing things if I hear noise from them!

Now that is particularly bad treatment from them - ie to make out you are "hearing things" when you hear their noise. It's basically telling you you aren't a logical/sane/etc/etc person and that is an insult to tell someone that IS perfectly sane and logical that they aren't and must be really upsetting to know they're trying to "chip at your confidence" (which is what a tactic like that boils down to) - ie they're trying to make you lose the confidence to try and deal with them/doubt your own judgement and perceptions of things = very naughty of them (particularly as "chipping" is something that can impact how normally you act in other contexts as well).

Never doubt that a small group of people can change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.

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